Disclaimer: I do not own Doctor Who and never will. But I do own Charlene Davis and any other characters I make up!
Author's Note: This is just a one-shot to keep you going before I post Never Be The Same. My best friend, RippahGoneWolf (who is also writer on this site) wrote the one-shot for me, but I added stuff to it. This can be read as a stand alone story to Charlene, Charlene, but those who have read it can enjoy this too. Oh and it's in third person (just putting it out there, the sequel to CWW will be in third person because I tried to write it in first person but it felt awkward writing it that way considering Charlene's change in that story). Charlene is faced by Brittany Snow still in this one-shot just to let you know. Anyway, enjoy the one-shot but first a warning:
Prepare for a lot of feels in this one-shot and you'll probably need to scrub your teeth afterwards.
Life is so precious. It comes, and goes so quickly in a blink of an eye. That lesson had been replayed so many times in the lives he's lived. He should have seen them coming, but it always shocked him to the core every time like a cold bucket of cold water washing over him. Hell, he's lived for over a thousand years. He'd seen things and done things. Each life was never the same. There was always a brand new adventure to partake in.
No adventure prepared him for this.
As he gazed at the little girl in his arms, his brown eyes almost watered with the amount of happiness - a happiness that hasn't happen for what seemed like forever – that was flooding through him at the life he had helped created. It still amazed him at how much a small life could make such a difference. "Frankly, I don't get your mother sometimes. Her fascination with these…what were they called again? Oh yes! Disney movies. She put us through Peter Pan and keeps insisting that there is a star to the right that goes straight until morning."
The Doctor grinned widely as his three month daughter gurgled and giggled at her father. Giggles that sounded so much like her mother. Oh how he loved moments like this especially the ones with his daughter. Though he had a conversation with her without her being able to speak, it's these special moments in time he would never give away. He wouldn't trade them for all the money in the world…if he had it, that is.
Still, he wasn't one to play favoritism with others. He shouldn't really. He's had many children across the years he's lived yet this tiny, precious being grabbed him by his heartstrings like no other. There's no doubt she's the precious star in his sky.
"Trust me, I've seen almost every inch of space and probably more at this point, and I had never seen a star that could go on for that amount of time. Maybe one day when you're old enough, and your mother relents, I can take you some places. Your mother would have my head though if I got caught," he spoke in a whisper, hoping she didn't hear him. Ever since their child was born, she naturally went into full mother mode, despite parenting being different. Their child was naturally a very happy baby and spoiled rotten to the core with their extended family at bay. It didn't help that the Doctor was often the guilty party most of the time.
He was still so thankful for this rare chance of happiness.
It wasn't the most cherished of ideas for a Time Lord to mate with a human. Who they were in nature was a price enough as it is if someone was attached to them. But at that level of personally intimacy, both parties would have to know and deal with the cost of what happens. He knew well enough and hoped that she did too. And she did for the most part. She's strong.
Charlene proved to be strong for carrying through with a task that nearly took her life. With a half human and Gallifreyan baby, the guaranteed of a normal pregnancy didn't come as part of the package. He still thought about it sometimes when it was just him. He could remember Charlene going through so many days sick and tired, barely hanging on some days.
But with every bad day, there were good days too.
She had this deep glow about her from the pregnancy that he couldn't explain. It was beyond him. Even as a Time Lord. It was one of those moments he would always cherish for many more lifetimes ahead.
"On the subject of your mother, you have some of her traits. Mostly in the looks, but the personality is from yours truly." And that's the opinion of a very bias father. When it came to their daughter, she looked like her mother from the fair hair and facial features, except for the eyes. She got those chocolate ones from her dad. And then the rest of her was from him too. Her curious and happy personality made her a natural daddy's little girl. He couldn't be any more proud or happier.
The Doctor watched with a smile he couldn't shake off as his daughter's brown eyes drifted close, but she kept trying to open them just by sheer stubbornness. "Now, the stubborn side of you. You definitely get that from your mother," he mused honestly as a hearty laugh made his chest rumble.
"Let me tell you something, Livvy." He cuddled her closer to his chest, the soothing sound of his heartbeats lulling her to sleep. "No matter what happens or changes that may come; I will never stop loving you or your mother. That will never change." And it wouldn't. He would make sure of that.
Looking at the clock on the wall of the room that the TARDIS had put in the baby room that was placed right next to his and Charlene's room, he could tell it was getting close to midnight. Deciding it was time to put Olivia back to sleep, the new father stood up from the chair he had been sitting in right next to the crib and gently began to place her in said crib, which earned him a cry of rebellion.
"It's official," he said to his little girl, chuckling as he cradled her in his arms yet again. "You definitely are stubborn like your mother." And it was true. Charlene was the most stubborn women on the planet. Then again, probably in the whole universe. Oh, well. He couldn't have everything despite his many years of life.
Rocking her gently, The Doctor's head popped with an idea. It was brilliant! Trying to remember from one of those favorites songs Charlene loved singing to; he hoped he chose the right one.
"The day we met, frozen I held my breath. Right from the start, I knew I had found a home for my heart … beats fast. Colors and promise. How to be brave? How can I love when I'm afraid to fall? But watching you stand alone, all my doubt suddenly goes away somehow. One step closer…" His smooth voice sung quite exceptionally 's brown eyes drifted away to sleep finally as her body relaxed and curled up against him. Lowering his tone, he sang just a little above a murmur. "I have died every day waiting for you. Darling, don't be afraid. I will love you for a thousand years. I'll love you for a thousand more."
Finally finishing it off, he laid her in her crib, unable to take his eyes off of her beautiful face.
"You know, you shouldn't be here…" The familiar, adored, and teasing voice of his wife pierced the tranquil silence.
The Doctor smiled, knowing who was already by the door. Turning around, he always welcomed her presence.
"I'm just doing your job, Livvy-love here needed to be attended to," he argued playfully.
Charlene smiled in return to her child like Doctor that she loved with her whole heart. "It was my job as her mother to do that, but you always beat me to it." She said, walking closer to her beloved Doctor and pressed her lips to his.
Always in need of her touch, he eagerly returned her kiss, wrapping his arms around her waist to bring her closer to his body. She always managed to bring him to the heavens and back, whether it was by her presence. Their love within each other was something unexpected yet it was meant to be. All it took was one look. One second. One moment that defined them. It's that feeling you can't deny that you know they're the one. And for the Doctor, it hit him like a comet coming straight for him.
Needing breath, Charlene broke the kiss, unable to stop the smile that was brought out of her every time she was with him. Content and happy, she rested her head on his chest. His embrace was just enough to bring out the best in her. The Doctor always managed to change and bring upon something new everywhere he went or who he meets. He changed her too in ways she couldn't imagine.
"You meant what you said, right?" she asked.
"And what would that be, love? I mean a lot of things. You know that already from putting up with me." Giving her his signature grin, it never failed to bring old thrills from when she first met him and made them brand new. Whether it was the cute accent as a bonus package or just him, it never failed to create butterflies in her stomach.
Looking up at him seriously, she spoke again. "About that promise you made to Olivia."
His smile faltered a little. So, that's what she meant. Seeing her growing distress, he tucked her blonde hair behind her ear before cradling her face with his hands. "Carly…" His pet name for her spilled from his lips as he kept his eyes on hers, "I keep my promises. I know you remember that well enough, yeah?"
She nodded a little in understanding. "Yeah…"
"No matter what happens…" Whether it was death. "…I will always…" By regeneration. "…Keep my promise…" By some other fate. "…to you and Livvy. I will always love you."
His words hit a spot in her heart like a home run out of the park. Tears prickled her beautiful blue eyes, threatening to spill over from her emotional post-pregnancy hormones. "You'd better keep that promise, you hear me?"
"I never intended to break it." He pulled her towards him and she fell into him, arms wrapping around his waist and head resting on his chest.
And as long as he was living and breathing, no matter what came their way, the love for each other and family will never change. It would always be the same.